Page 149 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (I)_Neat

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Shortly after arriving he joined the Shaikh at

Sakhir where he has been giving lessons to three of
the younger sons, Shaikhs Mubarak, Daij and Ahmed.
The boys do not take easily to education as until now

they have never been bound to any regular routine.
Considerable progress however has been made with Shaikh
Mubarak who in three months has acquired some knowledge
of English. He is also being taught the rudiments of

Law and accompanied by the tutor he attends Courts
in Manamah for instruction and has lately been appoint-*

ed as a Magistrate on the Small Joint Court, The two
younger beys are making slight progress, In addi-tion
to their lessons from the tutor they are taught twice
a week by the Inspector of Education, The tutor on

his arrival could speak no Arabic, which was a serious
handicap, but he has now acquired a working knowledge
of that language.

General.
In Bahrain, as in many other places, Education
is resented by the unprogressive religious party,

especially by the Kadis and Mullahs. 'Their own know-
f
ledge is so slight that they are afraid of losing what

prestige they have if the community becomes more edu-
cated. On several occasions the^Kadis, who are appo­
inted and paid by the Government have preached against
education in the mosques, Otherwise education is
generally appreciated by the public, especially by

the ever increasing number of Arabs who travel abroad.
Unfortunately the Ruling family, with a few exceptions,

do not appreciate the necessity of educating their
sons. The very slightest knowledge of reading and
writing was sufficient for tnera in the past, and they

seem to think that it will be sufficient for them in